Fort Wayne police and fire briefs

Several people escaped uninjured from the IHOP Restaurant, 4403 Coldwater Road, after smoke filled the restaurant from the HVAC system.

The Fort Wayne Fire Department responded at 11:06 a.m. Tuesday to a possible structure fire at IHOP. A caller said smoke was visible in the restaurant and an evacuation was in progress, according to fire department spokeswoman Stacey Fleming. Fire crews arrived and saw smoke coming from the roof vent. The found smoke throughout the restaurant. As a precaution, additional engines were called in because of the structure type and extreme weather conditions. Further investigation determined that several HVAC technicians were working on the restaurant’s system before the FWFD’s arrival.

After removing the HVAC panel door, someone found smoke and called 911. Firefighters found the problem and contained it to the vent area.

No fire or water damage was reported, only minor smoke damage.

The fire was cleared by investigations and determined to be a malfunction in the HVAC system.

Fire in Fremont hampered by weather

A fire that causes heavy damage to a Fremont home is being attributed to a wood-burning stove.

The Fremont Fire Department was called to a garage fire at the 3500 block of N 750 E at 10:19 a.m. Monday, according to a news release. Because of the weather and road conditions, firefighters had to call for the town of Fremont's plow trucks so they could get to the residence.

Crews found a garage attached to the house with smoke and flames visible. The below-freezing temperatures further hampered fire-fighting efforts because the trucks and hoses froze. The fire had spread into the living room and was extinguished and under control at 11:09 a.m.

According to an earlier report by the Fort Wayne Police Department, the man had caused a disturbance at the St Joseph Hospital emergency room, where he punched a security guard, then he caused a disturbance in the parking lot of the BP prior to the theft, when he was asked to leave the property and not return.

According to a later report from the Fort Wayne Police Department, the man returned to the gas station and from surveillance tapes it could be seen he took three to four packages of tank tops from the rack and left the store without paying. A description of the man was broadcast on the police radio and a call came back about a man in the Mad Anthony Brew Company who matched the man's description. The man was apprehended at Mad Anthony's and taken into police custody for questioning.

Man shot in arm while working on car stereo

A man was shot in the arm early Saturday morning while working on his car stereo.

According to a report from the Fort Wayne Police Department, officers were called to the St Joseph Hospital emergency room, where a man had come in with a bullet wound to his arm around 4:22 p.m. Saturday. According to the subject he had been working on his car stereo shortly after 1 am Saturday on Winter Street when he was shot in the arm. He said he never saw a muzzle flash, and insisted if he had been shot he would have seen that. He told the responding officer numerous times he had not been involved with gangs, or sleeping with anyone's wife. The hospital staff said he was fine and there was no exit wound.